In many cases, it’s the slowest processes which produce the best results.
This is true for artisanal foods, where the best (and most expensive) are often produced slowly, in small batches. It can also be true for business development or on-farm diversification. For cheese, charcuterie and knife-maker, Fingal Ferguson, the slow and steady pace of building the family-run food business, Gubbeen (located on their 250ac farm near Schull in west Cork), has been a major contributing factor to their success.
“Gubbeen never had a business plan,” he says. “We did this because we wanted to and because it was inspiring. That is what drives you on. My mum is the kind of person who makes pickles when there are too many tomatoes. We had the milk, so why wouldn’t we make cheese? We had the pigs, so why not make our own bacon?”
We are sitting in the farmhouse kitchen belonging to Fingal’s parents – Tom and Giana Ferguson – and discussing all things pertaining to food and farming. The wooden table was not set for us, more likely for children and grandchildren, who pop in and out at regular intervals. It features a spread of fresh sourdough bread; sweet, juicy tomatoes from Fingal’s sister, Clovisse’s polytunnel, sea salt, butter and strawberries. Fingal adds a wheel of freshly ripened Gubbeen cheese to the mix and asks my daughter, who came along for the visit, to slice it up. The deepest connections are always made around the kitchen table.
“It’s all quite simple,” Fingal muses. “I’m a fifth-generation farmer from west Cork, and my parents are two of the hardest-working people I know. Dad has always run the farm, and mum came up with the cheese when I was two and a half years old. Then, we started the smokehouse and started selling at farmers markets. Now, I also make chef’s knives.
“We rarely leave the farm because we are all working our asses off,” he continues, laughing. “My family and I live across the way, my sister, Clovisse, is below and my sister, Rose, is above. We jokingly call this area ‘the commune’.”
While off-farm excursions are rare, Fingal does sometimes hit the road for the ‘big smoke’ – or, as will soon be the case, the Big Grill BBQ and Food Festival, which will take place in Dublin’s Herbert Park from 14-17 August. Featuring barbeque-focused dining experiences, craft brews, cocktails, live music and family-friendly activities, Fingal has been taking part in the festival for several years and enjoys the creative freedom which comes along with the territory.
Fingal Ferguson from Gubbeen Cheese, Schull, Co Cork. \ Donal O' Leary
Festival experience
“I met Andy [Noonan, founder of The Big Grill] years ago and he said to come up to the festival,” he explains. “I love going to events like this; it’s really touching to see how many people know our products and what we do here [at Gubbeen]. At The Big Grill in particular, you meet beautiful, like-minded people from all over the world. And we’re all bloody gluttons! We all just love our food, and we don’t mind getting there the hard way – via the long, slow cook.”
This year, Fingal is working on two unique projects for the festival. One is in collaboration with Sheridan’s Cheesemongers for a dining event called ‘Curd of the Rings’ – a specially curated four-course meal featuring a selection of cheeses paired with craft beers. The other is with Nick Weston (Hunter Gather Cook) in a demo featuring foods from around the world which might seem off-putting to the average Irish consumer (think animal brains and testicles).
“I love Nick’s energy and we’re both quite naughty,” Fingal says with a glint in his eye. “What we’re trying to do is take traditional foods from around the world that people might think are unattractive – things like durian fruit [fruit from Asia with a stong smell], fermented fish or offal. There’s a fun factor which comes along with making people freak out. Last year, we did a blood cocktail made with whiskey and cream, and people were fighting to come and try it.”
Shock value of eating brains aside, Fingal credits Irish diners for their adventurous spirit. “That nature is probably what keeps us going – we’ve travelled to the far corners of the world and, while that curiosity is so important, at the same time, we never forget our roots.”
These rare weekends away are a tonic for the soul, but Fingal is always happiest at home on the farm – whether in his workshop, where he hand crafts his range of knives, or in the smokehouse where the Gubbeen range of salamis, chorizos and bacons are made. Gubbeen cheese is widely known throughout the cheese-making world and enjoys a storied history as one of the first products from the Irish farmhouse cheese revival in the late 1970s. These diverse streams of the family business employ over 20 people and support local farmers and members of the community.
“The farm is the backbone of everything,” Fingal says. “Today, we are one of the few farmhouse cheesemakers producing the milk which makes the cheese. By having our own cows, we can control the quality of our milk. We make roughly 2t of cheese per week from our herd of 140, and we make two types of cheese: the smoked Gubbeen, and the washed rind. In many ways, cheesemaking is incredibly simple, but maintaining consistency in cheesemaking is hard. That is where the passion comes in – as my dad would say, ‘If it was easy, everybody would do it’.”
In the 1960s and 70s, Fingal’s parents were friends with Veronica Steele (of Milleens Cheese) and Jeffa Gill (Durrus Cheese), who were among the first to create Irish farmhouses cheeses alongside Dick and Helene Willems (Coolea cheese). These Cork families helped create the iconic farmhouse cheese movement we now know today.
“My mum is the creative,” Fingal says. “She is British but grew up in Spain and food was a huge part of her upbringing. Dad is a hard-working west Cork farmer. If mum dreamed something up, dad would always make it happen.”
Fingal Ferguson, Gubbeen Cheese, Schull, Co Cork. \ Donal O' Leary
Inspiring
Giana’s Spanish upbringing was also the inspiration for the Gubbeen range of cured meats. Originally, the Fergusons used a local smoker – Chris Jepson – for their smoking needs. When he retired, Fingal and his father built their own smoker. None of these developments happened overnight. Much like the process of making a great cheese, knife or cured meat, Gubbeen’s business evolved over time, either due to necessity or when inspiration would strike. Ultimately, Fingal feels the idea of “more is more” is not always for the best.
“If we make more product, we might make more money, but then we also need more insurance. More staff. More of everything else,” he says.
“For a long period of time, Gubbeen wasn’t about growth; it was about getting better. Our family motto is, ‘Pass things on better than you found them yourself.’ There’s going to be the good and the bad in everything you do, and there will be points where you question everything. It comes down to how much you care; to be able to wake up and deal with problems and get through them.
“You need a reserve tank for that. We are not perfect, and we never want to portray ourselves as ‘the best’,” he adds. “We have had to work extremely hard to get the system we have, and we could always be better. It has taken two generations to get to where we are now, and to build this amazing community around us.”
Yes, these slow processes may often require patience, but the result – Gubbeen itself a case in point – is worth the effort.
“You could dismantle Gubbeen brick by brick and take it to the other side of the world,” Fingal reflects. “You might have Gubbeen for a week, and then it would start to turn into something else.
“Microbiology is fascinating. The salt coming from the coast lands on our grass, the cows eat it and that’s coming through their milk. Our curing room has a consistency in temperature which doesn’t yo-yo, and we have people here who care – like Diane, who has worked here since I was a kid and is in charge or the curing rooms. It takes a community to make this kind of thing work.”
You can find Fingal Ferguson hosting his ‘Curd of the Rings’ OFFSIDE lunch taking you through a guided tasting that celebrates the craft, character, and sheer joy of great cheese on the Saturday and Sunday of the Big Grill Festival.
For tickets and the full festival line-up see biggrillfestival.com
In many cases, it’s the slowest processes which produce the best results.
This is true for artisanal foods, where the best (and most expensive) are often produced slowly, in small batches. It can also be true for business development or on-farm diversification. For cheese, charcuterie and knife-maker, Fingal Ferguson, the slow and steady pace of building the family-run food business, Gubbeen (located on their 250ac farm near Schull in west Cork), has been a major contributing factor to their success.
“Gubbeen never had a business plan,” he says. “We did this because we wanted to and because it was inspiring. That is what drives you on. My mum is the kind of person who makes pickles when there are too many tomatoes. We had the milk, so why wouldn’t we make cheese? We had the pigs, so why not make our own bacon?”
We are sitting in the farmhouse kitchen belonging to Fingal’s parents – Tom and Giana Ferguson – and discussing all things pertaining to food and farming. The wooden table was not set for us, more likely for children and grandchildren, who pop in and out at regular intervals. It features a spread of fresh sourdough bread; sweet, juicy tomatoes from Fingal’s sister, Clovisse’s polytunnel, sea salt, butter and strawberries. Fingal adds a wheel of freshly ripened Gubbeen cheese to the mix and asks my daughter, who came along for the visit, to slice it up. The deepest connections are always made around the kitchen table.
“It’s all quite simple,” Fingal muses. “I’m a fifth-generation farmer from west Cork, and my parents are two of the hardest-working people I know. Dad has always run the farm, and mum came up with the cheese when I was two and a half years old. Then, we started the smokehouse and started selling at farmers markets. Now, I also make chef’s knives.
“We rarely leave the farm because we are all working our asses off,” he continues, laughing. “My family and I live across the way, my sister, Clovisse, is below and my sister, Rose, is above. We jokingly call this area ‘the commune’.”
While off-farm excursions are rare, Fingal does sometimes hit the road for the ‘big smoke’ – or, as will soon be the case, the Big Grill BBQ and Food Festival, which will take place in Dublin’s Herbert Park from 14-17 August. Featuring barbeque-focused dining experiences, craft brews, cocktails, live music and family-friendly activities, Fingal has been taking part in the festival for several years and enjoys the creative freedom which comes along with the territory.
Fingal Ferguson from Gubbeen Cheese, Schull, Co Cork. \ Donal O' Leary
Festival experience
“I met Andy [Noonan, founder of The Big Grill] years ago and he said to come up to the festival,” he explains. “I love going to events like this; it’s really touching to see how many people know our products and what we do here [at Gubbeen]. At The Big Grill in particular, you meet beautiful, like-minded people from all over the world. And we’re all bloody gluttons! We all just love our food, and we don’t mind getting there the hard way – via the long, slow cook.”
This year, Fingal is working on two unique projects for the festival. One is in collaboration with Sheridan’s Cheesemongers for a dining event called ‘Curd of the Rings’ – a specially curated four-course meal featuring a selection of cheeses paired with craft beers. The other is with Nick Weston (Hunter Gather Cook) in a demo featuring foods from around the world which might seem off-putting to the average Irish consumer (think animal brains and testicles).
“I love Nick’s energy and we’re both quite naughty,” Fingal says with a glint in his eye. “What we’re trying to do is take traditional foods from around the world that people might think are unattractive – things like durian fruit [fruit from Asia with a stong smell], fermented fish or offal. There’s a fun factor which comes along with making people freak out. Last year, we did a blood cocktail made with whiskey and cream, and people were fighting to come and try it.”
Shock value of eating brains aside, Fingal credits Irish diners for their adventurous spirit. “That nature is probably what keeps us going – we’ve travelled to the far corners of the world and, while that curiosity is so important, at the same time, we never forget our roots.”
These rare weekends away are a tonic for the soul, but Fingal is always happiest at home on the farm – whether in his workshop, where he hand crafts his range of knives, or in the smokehouse where the Gubbeen range of salamis, chorizos and bacons are made. Gubbeen cheese is widely known throughout the cheese-making world and enjoys a storied history as one of the first products from the Irish farmhouse cheese revival in the late 1970s. These diverse streams of the family business employ over 20 people and support local farmers and members of the community.
“The farm is the backbone of everything,” Fingal says. “Today, we are one of the few farmhouse cheesemakers producing the milk which makes the cheese. By having our own cows, we can control the quality of our milk. We make roughly 2t of cheese per week from our herd of 140, and we make two types of cheese: the smoked Gubbeen, and the washed rind. In many ways, cheesemaking is incredibly simple, but maintaining consistency in cheesemaking is hard. That is where the passion comes in – as my dad would say, ‘If it was easy, everybody would do it’.”
In the 1960s and 70s, Fingal’s parents were friends with Veronica Steele (of Milleens Cheese) and Jeffa Gill (Durrus Cheese), who were among the first to create Irish farmhouses cheeses alongside Dick and Helene Willems (Coolea cheese). These Cork families helped create the iconic farmhouse cheese movement we now know today.
“My mum is the creative,” Fingal says. “She is British but grew up in Spain and food was a huge part of her upbringing. Dad is a hard-working west Cork farmer. If mum dreamed something up, dad would always make it happen.”
Fingal Ferguson, Gubbeen Cheese, Schull, Co Cork. \ Donal O' Leary
Inspiring
Giana’s Spanish upbringing was also the inspiration for the Gubbeen range of cured meats. Originally, the Fergusons used a local smoker – Chris Jepson – for their smoking needs. When he retired, Fingal and his father built their own smoker. None of these developments happened overnight. Much like the process of making a great cheese, knife or cured meat, Gubbeen’s business evolved over time, either due to necessity or when inspiration would strike. Ultimately, Fingal feels the idea of “more is more” is not always for the best.
“If we make more product, we might make more money, but then we also need more insurance. More staff. More of everything else,” he says.
“For a long period of time, Gubbeen wasn’t about growth; it was about getting better. Our family motto is, ‘Pass things on better than you found them yourself.’ There’s going to be the good and the bad in everything you do, and there will be points where you question everything. It comes down to how much you care; to be able to wake up and deal with problems and get through them.
“You need a reserve tank for that. We are not perfect, and we never want to portray ourselves as ‘the best’,” he adds. “We have had to work extremely hard to get the system we have, and we could always be better. It has taken two generations to get to where we are now, and to build this amazing community around us.”
Yes, these slow processes may often require patience, but the result – Gubbeen itself a case in point – is worth the effort.
“You could dismantle Gubbeen brick by brick and take it to the other side of the world,” Fingal reflects. “You might have Gubbeen for a week, and then it would start to turn into something else.
“Microbiology is fascinating. The salt coming from the coast lands on our grass, the cows eat it and that’s coming through their milk. Our curing room has a consistency in temperature which doesn’t yo-yo, and we have people here who care – like Diane, who has worked here since I was a kid and is in charge or the curing rooms. It takes a community to make this kind of thing work.”
You can find Fingal Ferguson hosting his ‘Curd of the Rings’ OFFSIDE lunch taking you through a guided tasting that celebrates the craft, character, and sheer joy of great cheese on the Saturday and Sunday of the Big Grill Festival.
For tickets and the full festival line-up see biggrillfestival.com
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